[Edaily Starin YUN GI BACK Reporter] Director Christopher Nolan’s new film, *The Odyssey*, has dominated theaters during the Liberation Day holiday, solidifying its lead at the box office. It is gaining even more momentum, significantly outpacing competing films not only in audience numbers but also in seat occupancy rates and advance ticket sales.

◇‘The Martian’ Seating Occupancy Rate at 76.7%… Advance Ticket Sales Hit 740,000
According to the Korean Film Council’s integrated computer network on the 17th, “Odyssey” drew 1,691,746 viewers last weekend (the 14th–16th), bringing its cumulative total to 4,542,482. During the same period, “Spider-Man: A Brand-New Day” drew 767,839 viewers (cumulative total of 7,279,373). Following that were: △ “Love’s Hachuping: The Legend of the Whale Jewel” with 133,928 viewers(cumulative total of 633,527) △ “Okay Madam 2” with 120,982 (cumulative total of 203,968) △ “Detective Conan: The Fallen Angel of the Highway” with 116,521 (cumulative total of 226,028).
Over the three-day holiday, the audience count for “Odyssey” was approximately 2.2 times that of “Spider-Man: A Brand New Day,” which ranked second. Beyond the competition among the top films, a clear trend emerged of audience demand concentrating on “Odyssey.”
“Odyssey’s” box office success is even more evident in its seat occupancy rate. On the 16th, a total of 940,056 seats were allocated for “Odyssey,” of which 720,615 were filled by actual moviegoers. The seat occupancy rate reached 76.7%. This significantly surpasses the 59% for “Spider-Man: A Brand New Day” and the 42.8% for “Love Hachuping: The Legend of the Whale Jewel.”
What is noteworthy is that both seat supply and the seat occupancy rate are high. Generally, when the number of screenings increases, the seat occupancy rate tends to drop; however, despite a massive daily supply of over 940,000 seats, “The Odyssey” filled more than three out of every four seats. This indicates that it is not merely a matter of screen dominance, but that actual audience demand is supporting the scale of screenings.
Early indicators for post-holiday box office performance are also strong. As of 8:30 a.m. on the 17th, advance ticket sales for *Odyssey* stood at 747,215 tickets—approximately 4.5 times higher than the 165,797 tickets for *Spider-Man: Brand New Day*. While “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” still leads in cumulative attendance, “The Odyssey” is currently dominating in terms of the rate at which it is attracting new viewers. The difference in attendance between the two films over the three-day holiday alone reached approximately 920,000 people.

◇“You have to see it in IMAX”… Special-format theater craze drives box office success
At the heart of this box office success lies not only director Christopher Nolan’s brand power but also the perception that this is a “movie you have to see in theaters.” In particular, “The Odyssey” became the first commercial film to be shot entirely with IMAX film cameras, generating intense demand for special screenings even before its release.
The IMAX craze was particularly pronounced in South Korea as well. As of the 16th, out of a cumulative audience of approximately 4.54 million, IMAX viewers numbered about 450,000, accounting for roughly 10 percent. In particular, the CGV Yongsan I’Park Mall IMAX theater—known as “Yong-AMX”—which can fully reproduce the 1.43:1 aspect ratio, saw a surge of audiences, leading to fierce competition for tickets. Key showtimes sold out one after another, with thousands of people waiting in line on ticketing sites; ticket scalping also became an issue, as seats—whose regular price is around 20,000 won—appeared on the secondary market for over 100,000 won.
This demonstrates that the success of *The Odyssey* aligns with a demand for a special theater experience that goes beyond simply watching a movie. It is believed that the act of watching a film in a highly exclusive special theater—which is a unique experience in itself—helped fuel the initial box office fervor.
High audience satisfaction is another factor supporting the film’s long-term success. *The Odyssey* continues to maintain high ratings across major theaters and portals, including a 98% CGV Golden Egg Index, a 9.6 rating at Lotte Cinema, a 9.4 rating at Megabox, and a 9.17 rating from actual viewers on Naver.
It is also worth noting whether the enthusiasm sparked in special screening theaters is spreading to the broader cinema market. The fact that the overall seat occupancy rate reached 76.7% on the 16th indicates that “The Odyssey’s” box office success cannot be explained solely by demand concentrated in specific special screening theaters. Analysts suggest that, as positive reviews and word-of-mouth continue, solid audience demand is also forming in standard theaters.
“The Odyssey” is a film adaptation of Homer’s ancient Greek epic poem, depicting the 10-year journey Odysseus undergoes to return to his homeland, Ithaca, after the Trojan War. The film stars Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, and Zendaya.